We’re dreaming of spring activities with kids over here as the winter melts away (at least for us up here in the Northern Hemisphere).
Seasons shifting holds treasures for us. The turn from one to another grounds us and marks our lives. So much awaits, especially when spring arrives. Such new life and promise. But seldom do we take much time to welcome it all. So, we’ve put together a list of five ways to usher in spring with kids.
Share with us how you’ll be celebrating the shift in season in the comments below.
Outdoor Spring Activities with Kids
As the winter chill lifts, spring activities with kids that involve getting outside are more possible. Hooray! Kick your heels up and celebrate by seeking out some sunshine.
Spend more unstructured time outside. Winter is lovely and a welcome reprieve from the year’s pace. Its quiet beauty slows our bodies and routines. With fewer hours of light and fewer days conducive to activity, we insulate and spend more time in our dens. Then, spring invites us to emerge.
With the weather warming up, look beyond your walls and search for what God is up to. God’s Spirit is busy animating each leaf’s unfurling and each creature’s awakening. What might God be inviting you and your children to awaken to this spring?
Take the long way home. Or go for daily walks. Or plan to go outside and observe the world at the same time each day to notice God’s handiwork.
Get some flowers. We can absorb such joy from simple aesthetics. God relishes beauty and, made in God’s image, we are brought to life being surrounded by it.
Springtime is a wonderful opportunity to search for new beauty that’s bursting into life. Blossoms are opening, birds returning, trees leafing out. Often, we even wear brighter colors when the weather warms. It’s like our whole world wakes up.
Bring some of this life indoors to remind you of spring’s display of newness and resurrection in nature. Whether you wander your yard searching for blooms to compose your own bouquet or go to the store to purchase a bundle, gift yourself or a friend with the season’s splendor.
Walk a labyrinth with your children. Sadly, many of our children are not exposed in the church to spiritual practices. So, the more parents are able to introduce them to various disciplines the better.
Several resources are available for the various ways of utilizing labyrinths. If you’ve never walked a labyrinth, enjoy the new experience alongside your children. Alternatively, if you’ve walked them before, consider trying a new way of walking or a head to a labyrinth you’ve never been to.
Labyrinths are a wonderful way to reflect on the cyclical nature of our year and our spiritual journey. Additionally, they’re suitable for children and adults, even families can do them together as a group. Conversations about the experience are a great follow-up to the practice.
Indoor Spring Activities with Kids
Spring activities with kids can be a little bit hard to plan, because the weather is often unpredictable. So, if it’s rainy out, try these two ideas that can easily by done inside.
Create a springtime prayer with your children. Help your children learn the art of prayer by writing one together. There is no wrong way to talk to God, so don’t worry. As their parent, you are entirely equipped to teach them how to pray.
One simple way of speaking to God is by simply thanking God for what springtime has brought. Perhaps you work together to make the prayer rhyme, so it’s a bit easier to remember.
Once you’re finished, post it a few places around the house to remind you of the fresh gifts spring is giving. Then, try praying it at the start and close of the each day you’re together.
Prepare a springtime feast. It is rare for most of us to connect to the Earth’s rhythms as a way of centering ourselves. The changing of seasons is an opportunity to do just that.
So, to intentionally take notice of the gifts spring gives to us, celebrate with a special meal. Using seasonal produce, give thanks to God for the changing of winter to spring. Notice and enjoy gifts from the Earth.
Additionally, it can be fun to invite friends and family. Perhaps encourage each person to bring a dish to share that uses ingredients unique to spring. Alternatively, ask guests to bring an item that symbolizes spring to them. Then, share about all the items during the meal.
What are you doing to welcome spring and thank God for its beauty? Don’t forget to share in the comments below. We love hearing from you!
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